


preferential treatment

by perennials



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: M/M, casual spoilers on Furuta's identity and stuff for recent chapters, furuta-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-08-14 15:48:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8019859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perennials/pseuds/perennials
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Furuta Nimura is full of bullshit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	preferential treatment

**Author's Note:**

> self-indulgent  
> they're not very in-character, i think, but i tried  
> also not sure if technical details are accurate cos i read tg and tgre over the span of 2 days kinda hazy on stuff sorry

Furuta Nimura is full of bullshit.

 

Or rather, Furuta is full of nothing at all, so on regular days bullshit suffices to stand in for his glass mirror existence. When he's spoken of, brought up in conversation like a passing drizzle or a momentary chill in the air, that is the sort of impression leveraged upon the casual listener, between recounts of his cowardly fleeing stunts and instances of surprising strength and usefulness— that this is a clown in a business suit, a cat in human skin, a noticeable inconsistency in the cake batter.

 

It's a carefully crafted kind of bullshit, however, with just the right amount of ditzy, clumsy investigator and sly, nimble verbal combatant to arouse little to no suspicion from those around him. There is perfection in deceit; a standing ovation for his pretentiousness where the audience is no one but himself.

 

This is something Kaneki notices on their first proper encounter at the CCG, when his newly-acquired subordinate bends over in an elaborate half-curtsy and then looks up to meet his eyes with a cordial smile glued in place.

 

“It's a pleasure to work with you, Associate-Special Class Kaneki.” His mouth curls languidly around the words.

 

Though Furuta’s behavior speaks of his apparently polite and courteous nature, Kaneki stares at him with half a second of unshielded distaste, before an equally placating smile takes to his lips and his eyes go blank.

 

“I'm looking forward to working with you too, Rank one Furuta.”

 

The expression on Kaneki’s face makes Furuta’s stomach twist, not unpleasantly.

 

-

 

Despite everything he claims not to be, Furuta’s talents stretch far and wide.

 

A flair for acting is one of them. If ~~failed half ghouls~~ CCG investigators were allowed to participate in worldwide award ceremonies, then surely he would win an Oscar for his role as supporting character in practically every side story and main plot sequence ever written. His involvement stretches beyond surface disruptions, and his actions are incendiary in nature more often than not.

 

Take for example, the case of the steel beams. The prologue to the unfolding tragedy before his very eyes, happy accident turned fire-igniting match, first push in a series of cascading dominoes. It's brought them all far more entertainment than they might have ever imagined it would.

 

“How’s the report on yesterday’s investigation coming along?” Kaneki asks over coffee one afternoon. Normally they'd be at the office, sipping the shit-quality instant stuff they stock in vending machines, but Furuta put up a big show in expressing his need for decent coffee, and to his delight Kaneki had agreed, albeit reluctantly.

 

Furuta’s smile wavers. “It should be done...soon,” he answers vaguely.

 

“You’d better hurry up then. Special Class Matsuri wants it as soon as possible.” Kaneki downs the rest of his coffee in one gulp and proceeds to wipe his mouth with a napkin.

 

It takes a second for Furuta to realize his normally impeccable superior’s missed a tiny smear of coffee (at the right corner, right under his lower lip), and another for him to discover that he sort of wants to lick it off.

 

Furuta beams harder.

 

“You missed a spot,” he notes cheerfully, and makes to lean across the table towards Kaneki.

 

“—I'll get it myself.” Kaneki evades him easily, still wearing a half-smile like cold, cold porcelain, and wipes it off immediately.

 

Recalling that dark, not-so-stormy night, Furuta thinks that he rather preferred the crazed, floundering, babbling boy with the spilled intestines twisting around him like coils of rope.

 

Nonetheless, black suits him quite well, too.

 

-

 

When Kaneki ducks into a taxi one night after work a few weeks later, Furuta invites himself along for the ride, citing an ‘aching back’ and ‘old man bones’ as excuses, and then invites himself into the elevator of his residence, too, promptly following the brooding investigator all the way in through the front door.

 

“What’re you here for?” Kaneki doesn't once take his eyes off him as he shrugs off his coat and hangs it by the entryway. Furuta finds that quite profoundly attractive.

 

“Oh, nothing really. I just thought some bonding time might be in order,” he replies innocently.

 

“I've got _work_ to do, Rank one Furuta,” Kaneki’s tone is forcibly light, but irritation seeps through in two words, namely _work_ and _Furuta_.

 

Is he here to gather more information on the enigma of Kaneki Ken, or have his whims finally led him right into the den of the ~~tiger~~ centipede? Furuta's smile remains firmly in place, but inside he wonders how he can get his superior to say his name again, in that exact tone of voice, with that delicious balance of tension and shallow disgust.

 

“I’d be more than willing to help with that.”

 

-

 

Kaneki falls asleep at the table seven minutes after midnight. Furuta can attest to this one hundred percent, because he's spent the last hour or so sitting across from him, flicking dust and scraps of paper in his general direction, and until quite recently they had all been masterfully deflected and sent flying back towards his face.

 

After that Furuta wanders into the kitchen and peeks into the fridge, hoping to find a late night snack of sorts, but finds it sadly quite empty, so he waltzes into the bathroom instead and spends five minutes admiring his own reflection in the mirror. His final stop is the bedroom, which he even knocks on before entering (being the ever polite and mannerly man he is) and tip-toeing comically into the dark, unoccupied space.

 

Furuta has been (presumably) absorbed in a book on the anatomy of human beings for the last five minutes when he feels the temperature in the room plummet, and then a coil of lukewarm breath against the back of his neck.

 

“What are you doing here?” Kaneki’s voice is ice-cold.

 

In a display of mock shock and panic, Furuta lets the book in his hands fall to the floor with a loud thud.

 

“Nothing,” is his response. _I'm doing nothing, reading nothing,_ am _nothing, nothing, blank slate, white face—_

 

“Bullshit.”

 

Chuckling, Furuta tries to turn around, but finds a hand at his throat and his back flat against the bookcase behind him before he can even react.

 

“You're right, it's bullshit,” he agrees readily, not flinching even when Kaneki’s ~~claws~~ nails begin to draw blood. What little pain is overshadowed by the rush of exhilaration to his head.

 

For a second Kaneki looks ready to rip his throat out, but he seems to think better of it and loosens his grip somewhat. Furuta takes the opportunity to bring his hands to Kaneki’s and pry them off his neck.

 

“Try this kind of thing again, and I'll make sure no part of you ever makes it back to CCG headquarters.” _Ah, there he goes._ Kaneki’s smiling again, that peeling plastic smile that screams broken bones and bruised skin, that wonderful, wonderful smile that makes Furuta sick to the stomach.

 

So he returns the smile tenfold. “With all due respect, I don't think the higher-ups would like that very much,” Furuta observes.

 

“Fuck you.” Kaneki scowls.

 

A pleasant smile. “Would you like to?”

 

“...get out of my apartment, Furuta.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is like the most obscure thing (and pairing) ever i don't even know what i'm doing here  
> been fandom-less for a while so reread tg and its sequel for a second time and  
> whoa  
> furuta u bloody asshat (genius)  
> he's my new fav  
> shit  
> anyway thanks for readin, if ya liked it leave a kudo or a comment or don't, whatever floats your boat, flaps your jack, kicks your dick  
> have a good one


End file.
